Review: Obstruktion – The End Takes Form

Obstruktion’s second full-length shreds complacency: nine tracks packed with riffs that scrape and bite, breakdowns that collapse the air, and uncanny atmosphere that lingers long after the storm has passed. “The End Takes Form” erupts as a roar of metallic hardcore tempered with death metal’s shadow.

From the first brutal pulses of the title track you know this album will demand something of you. Guitars rampage with jagged precision, drums hammer like iron, vocals growl and roar with urgency. But what sets it apart is how the band doesn’t just rage. No. They build. Songs shift, introducing moments of reflection: a quieter riff here, a haunting melody there, ambient dread breathing under the thunder. These pauses make the violence hit harder because it’s earned.

Songs like “Death Comes Near” and “The Final Hour” deliver on pure momentum and aggression. They do not waste time. Obstruktion steer straight toward the heart of brutality but still allow hooks to find purchase: grooving riffs, shred-flourished leads, rhythmic shifts that catch unawares. The listener is pushed forward by force but never without tether. There is enough melody, enough variation, to avoid fatigue.

What impresses is the balance between rawness and polish. The production is sharp and heavy, guitars sound massive without becoming mush, drums cut sharp, bass adds weight, and the mix opens space for atmosphere without diluting intensity. Especially in “Born of Contempt”, you can hear how dynamics are used like weapons, used for impact. The song journeys through crushing heaviness and stretches of uneasy calm, the tension mounting like approaching thunder.

There are moments where the album’s intensity threatens to consume itself. At times the blast-tempo assault overpowers texture; some breakdowns feel recycled; a few lyrical ideas repeat familiar death-metal tropes without fresh perspective. But margins of repetition are minor compared to the overall energy and ambition. The album never feels indulgent; even in its most feral moments there is control and purpose.

If anything keeps this from perfection, it’s that the album doesn’t often surprise outside of its framework. We know what Obstruktion are good at now, as this delivers heavily. What it doesn’t always do is break far enough from its influences. But maybe it doesn’t need to, since it sharpens them so keenly.

All in all, this record is a blast. It is fierce, skilled, unforgiving but alive. Obstruktion prove here not only that they know their terrain, but that they can tear it wide while forging something that lingers. A powerful album, one that demands to be felt and endured.